Monday, December 13, 2010

HATCH APPLAUDS FEDERAL COURT DECISION THAT OBAMACARE INSURANCE MANDATE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Utah Senator Says, “Today is a Great Day for Liberty”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today applauded the decision by U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Virginia that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority in mandating that every American purchase health insurance or face a fine. “Today is a great day for liberty,” said Hatch. “Congress must obey the Constitution rather than make it up as we go along. Liberty requires limits on government, and today those limits have been upheld.” Hatch was the first Senator to publicly argue that the individual insurance mandate is unconstitutional. Utah is an original plaintiff in another major lawsuit against ObamaCare, filed in U.S. District Court in Florida, which now includes 20 states, the National Federal of Independent Business (NFIB), and individual citizens. In November, Senator Hatch joined Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) in circulating a friend-of-the-court brief which was filed in this case with the support of 32 Senators. Judge Roger Vinson will hear arguments on the merits on Thursday, December 16. “If the government can tell you what to buy, then what limits on federal power exist?” said Hatch. “The $ 2.6 trillion health law is an astonishing expansion of that power and bursts the limits that the Constitution imposes on the federal government.” In June 2010, Hatch introduced the American Liberty Restoration Act (S.3502), which would repeal the unconstitutional individual insurance mandate. Fifteen Senators have so far co-sponsored the bill, which is endorsed by groups, including the NFIB and National Retail Federation.